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Transformers: The Headmasters
|network = Nippon TV (1987–1988) |network_en = |first = July 3, 1987 |last = March 25, 1988 |episodes = 35 |episode_list = #Episodes }} Transformers: The Headmasters is a Japanese anime television series that is a part of the Transformers robot superhero franchise. It aired from July 1987 to March 1988, and its 17:00-17:30 timeslot was used to broadcast Mashin Hero Wataru at the end of its broadcast. Development Inititally, Takara, the Japanese producers of the Transformers toyline, imported the American Transformers cartoon series from 1985 to 1986. When the series came to an end with the three-part miniseries "The Rebirth" in 1987, however, Takara decided to continue the series themselves, declining to import The Rebirth and instead creating a full-length 35-episode spin-off series, Transformers: The Headmasters (two additional clips episodes were produced after the fact for direct-to-video release). Supplanting The Rebirth's position in Japanese continuity, The Headmasters occurred one year after The Return of Optimus Prime, introducing the title characters to the Transformers universe in a different way. Whereas in western fiction, the Headmasters result from the merging of a Transformer with an organic alien being from the planet Nebulos, the Headmasters of the Japanese series are a group of small Cybertronians who departed the planet millions of years ago and crash-landed on the inhospitable planet Master. To survive its harsh climate, a select few Cybertronians constructed larger bodies called "Transtectors", to which they connected as the heads. Story Six years after the decisive battle against Unicron, when a group of rebellious Headmasters led by Weirdwolf joined with Galvatron's Decepticons in an attack on Cybertron, the bot Headmasters, led by Cerebros return to their home planet to aid in its defense. The situation soon gets worse when it is revealed that Vector Sigma, the super-computer at the planet's heart, was destabilizing, and Optimus Prime again sacrifices his life to save Cybertron. This soon proves to be only delaying the inevitable, however, when a bomb attack instigated by Scorponok turns Cybertron into a burnt-out, inhospitable husk. Rodimus Prime departs to search for a new planet for the Transformers to live on, leaving Cerebros in command, operating from the planet Athenia. Meanwhile, Scorponok replaces Galvatron - who had vanished in the explosion - as Decepticon leader, constructing a personal Transtector so that he can battle Cerebros' own giant form, Fortress Maximus, and redubbing himself MegaZarak. Although populated mainly with new characters, The Headmasters featured characters from all previous seasons, including new versions of Soundwave and Blaster, rebuilt after a duel that destroyed them both as Soundblaster and Twincast. Human Daniel Witwicky and his young Autobot friend Wheelie also played major roles in the series, serving as the youthful characters for the audience to identify with. More new characters were introduced when Galvatron returned to leadership and the Decepticons embarked on a space voyage, ransacking planets in a chain of stories that introduced the Horrorcons, Autobot and Decepticon clones. Later, the Decepticon ninja six-changer Sixshot kills Ultra Magnus, and the Autobot Headmasters manage to destroy Galvatron, leaving Scorponok to become leader of the Decepticons again. When the Decepticons then return to Master, refugees from the planet are caught in a plasma bomb accident that fuses them to the arms of several Autobots and Decepticons, creating the Targetmasters, and in a final move, Scorponok attempts the destruction of Earth, only to be foiled, thanks in part to a traitorous Sixshot. Characters Adaptations Not professionally released in the United States until July 5, 2011, The Headmasters was dubbed into English in Hong Kong by the dubbing company; Omni Productions, for broadcast on the Malaysian TV channel, RTM1, and later the Singapore satellite station, StarTV, where it attained greater fame, leading it to often be referred to as the "StarTV dub". The dub is, however, infamous for its poor quality, full of mistranslations and incorrect names (Blaster becomes "Billy", Blurr becomes known as "Wally", Jazz is "Marshall", Hot Rod is "Rodimus", pronounced "Roadimus", the Matrix becomes "the Power Pack", Spike is "Sparkle", Soundblaster is "New Soundwave", Metroplex is called "Phillip", Cerebros is "Fortress", and Fortress Maximus is known as "Spaceship Bruce"), and stilted and even bizarre dialogue, such as "I'll send you express to hell", and "Fortress Maximus has come himself". Also, Wheelie does not speak in rhyme (but seems to have a slight Scottish accent), the Dinobots speak normally (Grimlock does not say his famous "Me Grimlock" at all), Raiden is known as Grimlock, and Blurr speaks abnormally slow, though this can be chalked up to the difficulty of imitating John Moschitta's fast-talking. Omni also dubbed the 1990s and 2000s Godzilla movies and Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky, both of which are ridiculed for extremely bad and at times cheesy dubbing. This dub has seen some releases in the United Kingdom, when it aired on AnimeCentral from September 13, 2007. In 2005, the full series with the original Japanese audio with subtitles and the English dub were released over 4-discs on DVD in Region 2. The full series was released on DVD in North America by Shout! Factory on July 5, 2011, without the English dub. In 2008, Madman Entertainment released the series on DVD in Australia in Region 4, PAL format. A novel based on this anime titled was written by Keisuke Fujikawa and released on August 25, 1987. An eight-chapter manga adaptation of this anime was written by Masami Kaneda and illustrated by Ban Magami as part of their series. Theme songs *Openings # #*July 3, 1987 - March 25, 1988 #*Lyricist: Will Jennings / Lyrics Translation: Keisuke Yamakawa / Composer: James Horner / Arrangers: David Foster and Robbie Buchanan / Singers: Hironobu Kageyama #*Episodes: 1-38 *Endings # #*July 3, 1987 - March 25, 1988 #*Lyricist: Will Jennings / Lyrics Translation: Keisuke Yamakawa / Composer: James Horner / Arrangers: James Newton Howard and Marty Paich / Singers: Hironobu Kageyama #*Episodes: 1-35, 38 *Insert Songs # #* January 22, 1988, February 5, 1988, February 19, 1988, March 18, 1988 #*Lyricist: Will Jennings / Lyrics Translation: Keisuke Yamakawa / Composer: James Horner / Arrangers: Steven Scott Smalley and Simon Franglen / Singers: Hironobu Kageyama #*Episodes: 24, 26, 28, 32 # #* February 12, 1988, February 26, 1988 #*Lyricist: Will Jennings / Lyrics Translation: Keisuke Yamakawa / Composer: James Horner / Arrangers: Steven Scott Smalley and Simon Franglen / Singers: Hironobu Kageyama #*Episodes: 27, 29 # #*Lyricist: Will Jennings / Lyrics Translation: Keisuke Yamakawa / Composer: James Horner / Arrangers: Steven Scott Smalley and Simon Franglen / Singers: Korogi '73, Mori no Ki Jido Gassho-dan #*Episodes: None #"TRANSFORM!" #*Lyricist: Howard Ashman / Lyrics Translation: Keisuke Yamakawa / Composer: Marvin Hamlisch / Arrangers: Marvin Hamlisch and Doug Besterman / Singers: Hironobu Kageyama #*Episodes: None # #*Lyricist: Howard Ashman / Lyrics Translation: Keisuke Yamakawa / Composer: Marvin Hamlisch / Arrangers: Marvin Hamlisch and Doug Besterman / Singers: Hironobu Kageyama #*Episodes: None # #*Lyricist: Howard Ashman / Lyrics Translation: Keisuke Yamakawa / Composer: Marvin Hamlisch / Arrangers: Marvin Hamlisch and Doug Besterman / Singers: Hironobu Kageyama #*Episodes: None # #*Lyricist: Howard Ashman / Lyrics Translation: Keisuke Yamakawa / Composer: Marvin Hamlisch / Arrangers: Marvin Hamlisch and Doug Besterman / Singers: Hironobu Kageyama #*Episodes: None # #*Lyricist: Will Jennings / Lyrics Translation: Keisuke Yamakawa / Composer: James Horner / Arrangers: Steven Scott Smalley and Simon Franglen / Singers: Hironobu Kageyama, Ikuko Noguchi #*Episodes: None Episodes Video game A video game based on the series was released by Takara in 1987 for the Family Computer Disk System (FDS). It can be played in either Single player or multiplayer, and it uses a Floppy disk. In the game, players control one of the Autobot Headmaster through four planets - Earth, Cybertron, Master, and Jail fighting the Decepticons. Unlike its predecessor, Mystery of Convoy, players cannot switch between robot and vehicle mode, as they are predetermined by level. Players also cannot choose which Autobot to play. Players must collect them throughout the game, as they will be flown in by helicopter and will replace that Autobot when they die. Due to Headmasters being for the FDS, the game came with a save game feature similar to those found in early Zelda and Metroid games. References External links *Transformers Japanese Collection: Headmasters'' at Shout! Factory *The Headmasters at the Transformers Wiki Category:Adventure anime and manga Category:1987 anime television series Category:1987 Japanese novels Category:1987 Japanese television series debuts Category:1988 Japanese television series endings Category:1987 manga Category:1988 comics endings Category:1987 video games Transformers: Headmasters Category:Children's manga Category:Interactive television Category:Light novels Category:Manga series Category:Mecha anime and manga Category:Nippon Television shows Category:Non-American television series based on American television series Category:Television series set in the 2010s Category:Toei Animation television Headmasters Category:Anime composed by James Horner Category:Anime composed by Leonard Rosenman Category:Anime composed by William Ross Category:Anime composed by Basil Poledouris Category:Anime composed by Shirley Walker Category:Musicals by James Horner and Will Jennings Category:Musicals by Marvin Hamlisch and Howard Ashman